Grain cleaning system for an agricultural combine

ABSTRACT

A grain cleaning system of an agricultural combine directs a flow of high velocity air in a first direction about an inlet end of a cleaning shoe. The system further monitors the cleaning shoe in order to detect a change in an operational parameter of the cleaning shoe, wherein the operational parameter is one of a transient effect of a sieve of the cleaning shoe, a flow rate about and exit end of the cleaning shoe and a flow velocity about an exit end of the cleaning shoe. Further, the flow of high velocity air about the inlet end of the cleaning shoe can be redirected in a second direction in response to a detected change in the operational parameter.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

The present invention relates generally to agricultural combines. Inparticular, the present invention relates to a grain cleaning system ofan agricultural combine that includes a blower having an adjustable airflow distribution.

Modern combine harvesters can be used for harvesting and threshing awide range of agricultural products. Combine harvesters include athreshing mechanism where the crop material is threshed in order toseparate grains from the discardable part of the crop, and graincleaning systems where clean grain kernels are separated from other cropparticles. In particular, in typical combine harvesters for harvestingcrop material, grain is threshed and separated in a threshing andseparating mechanism and the separated grain, together with impuritiesof all sorts, such as chaff, dust, straw particles and tailings, are fedto a cleaning system or mechanism for cleaning. Clean grain is collectedbelow the cleaning system and fed to a grain tank for temporary storage.The tailings are separated from the clean grain and impurities by meansof sieves and provisions are taken for recycling the tailings throughthe combine harvester for reprocessing. This reprocessing involveseither recycling the tailings through the threshing and separatingmechanism and/or treating them in a separate tailings rethresher means.

Cleaning systems are operated under a wide range of conditions, whichsometimes result in a temporary overload of the sieve sections. Cleaningsystems in combine harvesters may be temporarily heavily disturbed bylocal field and crop conditions, such as for instance rapid slopevariations or an abrupt increase in crop throughput when the harvesteris driven from a low yield spot into a zone with higher yields.Disturbance may also be caused by wrong separation or cleaning settings,difficult cleaning conditions (e.g., from a large amount of greenmaterial), or when the threshing settings of the combine harvester arenot properly adjusted for harvesting conditions. Such disturbances areknown as “transient effects” on the cleaning system and can result in asudden overload of the cleaning system, e.g., where a heap of cropmaterial accumulates locally on the upper sieve of the cleaning systemsuch that the cleaning system can not fulfill its function. Moreover, aconstant overload of the cleaning system ultimately may lead to asubstantial rise of the tailings flow ending up with excessive cleaninglosses and with blockages of the tailings return system.

Increasing the speed and capacity of the combine is limited by thecapacity of the cleaning system to separate the material other thangrain (“MOG”) and keep the grain losses within acceptable limits in bothflat and hilly conditions. Current technologies provide a partialsolution to changes in both incoming crop material quantity anddistribution/thickness of crop material on the sieves. Commonly, theoperator attempts to reduce sieve losses in such cases by ground speedcontrol strategies, in particular by reducing the ground speed. However,it is not useful to apply ground speed variations once a heap of cropmaterial is present on the upper sieve section because it takes aconsiderable amount of time to recover from the transient effect suchthat a significant amount of crop will be lost before the effects of thenew speed have stabilized. Furthermore, the sudden increase of sievelosses disturbs the closed loop behavior of automatic grain loss controlalgorithms and causes serious discomfort to the operator, when operatingin automatic ground speed control mode.

Other techniques to address transient effects, especially in hillyconditions, is to respond to crop material thickness variations on topof the sieve by varying the fan speed of a blower of the cleaning shoe.Unfortunately, when increased fan speed and air flow is being used topenetrate the increased thickness of the crop material in the front ofthe cleaning system based on the slope the air finds the least resistantpath which would also effect the air flow and velocity at the rear ofthe cleaning system leading to unacceptable grain losses, forcing theoperator to reduce the harvesting speed in order to limit grain losses.

Thus, a need still exits for a cleaning system capable of addressing theaforementioned defects of current cleaning systems for handlingtransient effects. Such a need is satisfied by the cleaning system andmethod of the present invention.

BRIEF SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

In accordance with a preferred embodiment, the present inventionprovides a method of clearing a grain cleaning system of an agriculturalcombine that includes the steps of providing and directing a flow ofhigh velocity air in a first direction about an inlet end of a cleaningshoe, monitoring the cleaning shoe in order to detect a change in anoperational parameter of the cleaning shoe, and redirecting the flow ofhigh velocity air about the inlet end of the cleaning shoe in a seconddirection in response to a detected change in the operational parameter.

In accordance with another preferred embodiment, the present inventionprovides an agricultural combine that includes a support structure, agrain cleaning system and a controller. The grain cleaning system ismounted to the support structure and includes a cleaning shoe having asieve, a sensor for sensing at least one operational parameter of thecleaning shoe, and a blower for blowing a flow of air into the cleaningshoe. The controller is operatively connected to and in communicationwith the blower and the sensor. The blower is configured to provide aflow of air between at least a first direction and a second direction toblow the flow of air into the cleaning shoe about a plurality ofdirections in response to the sensor sensing a change in the at leastone operational parameter.

In accordance with yet another preferred embodiment, the presentinvention provides a method of clearing a grain cleaning system of anagricultural combine that includes the steps of providing a blower forgenerating a flow of air in a first direction about an inlet end of acleaning shoe, monitoring the flow of air generated by the blower inorder to detect a change in an operational parameter of the blower, andmodifying at least one of a direction, velocity and pressure of the flowof air in response to a detected change in the operational parameter.

In accordance with another preferred embodiment, the present inventionprovides an agricultural combine that includes a support structure, agrain cleaning system and a controller. The grain cleaning system ismounted to the support structure. The grain cleaning system includes acleaning shoe having a sieve, a blower for blowing a flow of air intothe cleaning shoe, and a sensor for sensing at least one operationalparameter of the blower. The controller is operatively connected to andin communication with the blower and the sensor. The blower isconfigured to provide a flow of air between at least a first directionand a second direction to blow the flow of air into the cleaning shoeabout a plurality of directions in response to the sensor sensing achange in the at least one operational parameter.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE SEVERAL VIEWS OF THE DRAWINGS

The foregoing summary, as well as the following detailed description ofthe preferred embodiments of the invention, will be better understoodwhen read in conjunction with the appended drawings. For the purpose ofillustrating the invention, there are shown in the drawings embodimentswhich are presently preferred. It should be understood, however, thatthe invention is not limited to the precise arrangements andinstrumentalities shown.

In the drawings:

FIG. 1 is a side elevation view of an agricultural combine in accordancewith a preferred embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 2 is a partial side elevation view of a grain cleaning system ofthe agricultural combine of FIG. 1;

FIG. 2A is a top perspective of the grain cleaning system of FIG. 2;

FIG. 3 is a partial side elevation view of the grain cleaning system ofFIG. 2;

FIG. 4 is a partial side elevation view of the grain cleaning system ofFIG. 3 with a portion of a blower housing moved to a reduced outletopening position;

FIG. 5 is a partial side elevation view of a cam system of the graincleaning system of FIG. 2;

FIG. 6 is a partial side elevation view of a grain cleaning system inaccordance with another preferred embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 7 is a partial side elevation view of the grain cleaning system ofFIG. 6 with a portion of the blower housing moved to a secondaryposition;

FIG. 8 is a schematic diagram of a control system of the presentinvention;

FIG. 9 is a partial side elevation view of a grain cleaning system inaccordance with yet another preferred embodiment of the presentinvention;

FIG. 10 is a partial side elevation view of a grain cleaning system inaccordance with a further preferred embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 11 is a top perspective view of the grain cleaning system of FIG.10;

FIG. 12 is a perspective view of a grain cleaning system in accordancewith another preferred embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 13 is side elevation view of the grain cleaning system of FIG. 2illustrating a transient effect on a sieve of the grain cleaning system;

FIG. 13A is side elevation view of the grain cleaning system of FIG. 13illustrating an abatement of the transient effect on a sieve of thegrain cleaning system;

FIG. 14 is a flow diagram illustrating a method of clearing a graincleaning system in accordance with another preferred embodiment of thepresent invention;

FIG. 15 is a flow diagram illustrating another method of clearing agrain cleaning system in accordance with a preferred embodiment of thepresent invention;

FIG. 16 is a partial side elevation view of a grain cleaning system inaccordance with another preferred embodiment of the present invention;and

FIG. 17. is a partial side elevation view of a grain cleaning system inaccordance with yet another preferred embodiment of the presentinvention.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

Reference will now be made in detail to the preferred embodiments of theinvention illustrated in the accompanying drawings. Wherever possible,the same or like reference numbers will be used throughout the drawingsto refer to the same or like features. It should be noted that thedrawings are in simplified form and are not drawn to precise scale. Inreference to the disclosure herein, for purposes of convenience andclarity only, directional terms such as top, bottom, above, below anddiagonal, are used with respect to the accompanying drawings. Suchdirectional terms used in conjunction with the following description ofthe drawings should not be construed to limit the scope of the inventionin any manner not explicitly set forth. Additionally, the term “a,” asused in the specification, means “at least one.” The terminologyincludes the words above specifically mentioned, derivatives thereof,and words of similar import.

The terms “grain,” “tailing,” and “crop material” are used throughoutthe specification for convenience and it should be understood that theseterms are not intended to be limiting. Thus, “grain” refers to that partof a crop which is harvested and separated from discardable portions ofthe crop material.

Referring to FIGS. 1-5, in a preferred embodiment, the present inventionprovides an agricultural combine 10 having a grain cleaning system 100.The agricultural combine 10 includes, among other components, a cab 12,a grain tank 14, an unloading auger 16, a threshing and separatingsection 18, and a feederhouse 20. Such components of the agriculturalcombine 10 are known and therefore a detailed description of theirstructure, function and operation is not necessary for a completeunderstanding of the present invention. However, a further descriptionof such agricultural combine components are disclosed in U.S. PatentApplication Publication No. 2012/0184339, the entire disclosure of whichis hereby incorporated by reference herein in its entirety.

Referring to FIG. 2, the agricultural combine 10 includes a supportstructure 22 onto which the grain cleaning system 100 is attached ormounted to. The support structure 22 can be any portion of theagricultural combine's frame, chassis or other support member.

The grain cleaning system 100 applicable to the present invention caninclude a first grain pan 102, a pre-cleaning sieve positioned above asecond grain pan, an upper sieve 104 and a lower sieve 106. The upperand lower sieves 104, 106 are positioned within a cleaning shoe 108 thatfunctions to house and operate the sieves 104, 106. The cleaning shoe108 constitutes the framework of reinforcement girders surrounding theupper and/or lower sieves. Alternatively, the grain cleaning system of acombine applicable to the present invention can include an auger bedinstead of a grain pain. Such auger beds and grain pains as well knownin the art and a detailed description of their structure, function andoperation is not necessary for a complete understanding of the presentinvention.

Grain which has been separated by the threshing and separating mechanism18 falls into the grain cleaning system 100. Within the grain cleaningsystem 100, the grains fall onto the first grain pan 102 and are thentransported to the pre-cleaning sieve positioned above the second grainpan. Grain is then processed to the upper sieve 104 and then the lowersieve 106. The first grain pan 102 collects the separated grainparticles and transports the mixture of chaff and grain to the front endof a pre-cleaning sieve or directly to an upper sieve 104. Thepre-cleaning sieve separates a first amount of grain kernels from thetotal mass of crop material and delivers its residual fraction to theupper sieve 104. The upper sieve 104 separates the small fraction fromthe larger particles. The residual fraction of chaffs, short straw andother sieve losses leaves the back side of the upper sieve 104 while theseparated fraction is processed by the lower sieve 106. The lower sieve106 separates the clean grain fraction from the return flow fraction.

Referring to FIG. 3, the grain cleaning system 100 includes a blower 110having a fan 112 and a housing 114 that houses or substantially housesthe fan 112. The fan 112 can be any fan applicable for a grain cleaningsystem of an agricultural combine, thus a detailed description of suchfans is not necessary for a complete understanding of the presentinvention. However, exemplary fans applicable to the present inventioninclude a transverse fan as disclosed in detail in U.S. Pat. No.8,052,374, the entire disclosure of which is hereby incorporated byreference herein. The fan 112 rotates about an axis 116 (that extendsinto the page as shown in FIG. 3) to provide for a flow of high velocityair to an inlet end 118 of the cleaning shoe 108. As used herein, theterm “high velocity air” is used to refer to a flow of air generated bythe blower 110. The blower 110 provides and directs a flow of highvelocity air into the cleaning shoe 108 to clear and clean the cleaningshoe 108 of material other than grain and to help maintain operations ofthe cleaning shoe 108 at normal speeds.

The housing 114 substantially encases the fan 112 and has an air inlet120 and an air outlet 122. The outlet 122 directs the flow of airgenerated by the blower 110. The outlet 122 is oriented to direct theflow of air in the direction shown by arrows A. For purposes ofillustration only, arrows A are shown in FIG. 3 to be at an anglerelative to a longitudinal axis 124 of the cleaning shoe 108 or sieves104, 106, however, the direction outputted by the outlet 122 canalternatively be substantially parallel to the longitudinal axis 124 ofthe cleaning shoe 108. The housing 114 can be configured as a singleoutlet housing 114 (FIG. 3) or as a dual outlet housing 314, as shown inFIG. 9, and further described below.

Referring to FIGS. 3 and 4, the housing 114 is configured as a splithousing. In a first aspect of the present embodiment, the housing 114includes a first portion e.g., an upper portion 126 and a secondportion, e.g., a lower portion 128. The upper portion 126 is fixed inposition so as to remain stationary. The lower portion 128 is split intoa stationary base portion 130 and a moveable mobile portion 132configured to move between a plurality of positions, such as a firstposition and a second portion.

The lower portion 128 is configured, as best shown in FIG. 3. The baseportion 130 is configured to have a substantially circular or ellipticalcross-section and extends to substantially encase or house the fan 112.The mobile portion 132 substantially forms the lower section of theoutlet plenum or lower front end of the housing outlet 122.

The mobile portion 132 and the base portion 130 are configured to havean overlapping section 134. The overlapping section 134 is formed byhaving one of the mobile portion 132 and base portion 130 sized to havea width and depth slightly smaller than the other such that the smallersized portion can be received within the other. Preferably, the baseportion 130 is sized to be smaller than the mobile portion 132 so as tobe received within a rear end 132 a of the mobile portion 132. The sizeof the overlapping section 134 changes as the mobile portion 132 movesthroughout its range of motion, but the overlapping section 134 alwaysremains. The walls of the overlapping section 134 can include a seal(not shown) embedded within a seal groove formed within one of the wallsof the base portion 130 or mobile portion 132.

The lower portion 128 and the upper portion 126 are also configured tohave side walls that make up an overlapping section 136. The size of theoverlapping section 136 changes as the mobile portion 132 and upperportion 126 move with respect to each other, however, the overlappingsection 136 remains throughout the upper and mobile portions 126, 132range of motion. Maintaining the overlapping section 136 throughout theentire range of motion of the upper and mobile portions 126, 132 withrespect to each other allows for the housing 114 to effectively controlthe flow of air generated by the blower 110 out through the housingoutlet 122. The side walls of the overlapping section 136 can include aseal (not shown) embedded within a seal groove formed within one of theside walls of the upper portion 126 or mobile portion 132.

As shown in FIG. 3, the lower portion 128 has a front end 136 b and arear end. The front end 136 b forms part of the outlet 122. The rear endis formed by the base portion 130 and substantially covers the fan 112.When the mobile portion 132 of the lower portion 128 is moved betweenfirst and second positions, the front end 136 b moves to either increasethe size of the outlet opening 122 (FIG. 3) or decrease the size of theoutlet opening 122 (FIG. 4). This feature of an adjustable housingoutlet opening 122 advantageously provides for a means to increase theflow velocity of air generated by the blower 110 when the blower 110 isoperating at a fixed or maximum RPM (revolutions per minute). This isespecially advantageous when the blower 110 operates at a maximum outputor RPM speed such that a higher velocity air flow cannot be generated bythe blower fan. In other words, the air flow velocity generated by theblower 110 can be advantageously increased when the blower 110 isoperating at a maximum capacity by decreasing the size of the outlet 122to thereby increase the pressure and velocity of air exiting the outlet122.

The housing 114 also advantageously provides a means to produce a pulseor a plurality of pulses of higher velocity air exiting the outlet 122by moving between the first and second positions. For example, the lowerportion 128 can be moved between first and second positions in arelatively short time frame, such as 1, 5, 10, or 15 second intervals or1, 2, 3, 4, or 5 minute intervals to produce a pulse or a plurality ofpulses of higher velocity air that is directed to the inlet end of thecleaning shoe 108.

Preferably, the mobile portion 132 of the lower housing 128 isconfigured to move about a plurality of positions by pivoting about theaxis 116. As the mobile portion 132 pivots about axis 116, the mobileportion 132 moves between a first position (FIG. 3) and a secondposition (FIG. 4). The mobile portion 132 can be configured to movebetween positions by an actuator, a cylinder, a motor or by any othermeans suitable for the intended use of moving the mobile portion 132.Preferably, the mobile portion 132 is moved by an actuator 138.

In an alternative aspect, as shown in FIG. 16, the mobile portion 132can be pivotably attached to the base portion 130 so as to pivot aboutaxis 116′ instead of axis 116. An actuator (not shown) can beappropriately connected to the mobile portion 132 to effectuatepivotable movement of the mobile portion 132 about axis 116′.

Referring to FIG. 5, the housing 114 also includes a cam 140. The cam140 can be positioned about the front end 136 b of the mobile portion132 of the lower housing 128, a rear end of the mobile portion 132 a, ora front end of the base portion 130, and preferably, about a side wallof the lower housing 128. The cam 140 is structured similar to a barrelcam system that includes a cam slot 142 and a cam follower 144. The cam140 directs the movement of the mobile portion 132 of the lower housing128. Specifically, the cam 140 is configured to move the front end 136 bin a substantially vertical direction to either increase or decrease thesize of the outlet 122.

Referring to FIGS. 6 and 7, in a second aspect of the presentembodiment, the present invention includes a housing 214 having a firstportion e.g., a rear portion 230 and a second portion, e.g., a frontportion 226. The rear portion 230 is fixed in position so as to remainstationary. The front portion 226 is split from the rear portion 230 andmovable between a plurality of positions, such as a first position and asecond portion. Preferably, the front portion 226 is split from the rearportion 230 about a substantially vertical plane or slightly angled froma vertical plane. However, the front portion 226 and the rear portion230 are configured to have an overlapping section 234. The overlappingsection 234 is formed by having one of the front portion 226 and therear portion 230 sized to have a width and depth slightly smaller thanthe other such that the smaller sized portion can be received within theother larger sized portion. Preferably, the rear portion 230 is sized tobe smaller than the front portion 226 so as to be received within a rearend 226 a of the front portion 226. The size of the overlapping section234 changes as the front portion 226 moves throughout its range ofmotion, but the overlapping section 234 always remains.

Preferably, the front portion 226 is configured to move about aplurality of positions by pivoting about an axis 216. As the frontportion 226 pivots about axis 216, the front portion 226 moves between afirst position (FIG. 6) and a second position (FIG. 7). The frontportion 226 can be configured to move between positions by an actuator,a cylinder, a motor or by any other means suitable for the intended useof moving the front portion 226. Preferably, the front portion 226 ismoved by an actuator 238.

When in the first position (FIG. 6), the front portion 226 directs theflow of air exiting the housing 214 along the direction of arrows B.However, when the front portion 226 is moved to the second position(FIG. 7), the front portion 226 directs the flow of air exiting thehousing 214 along the direction of arrow C. The direction of flowdepicted by arrows B and C are different i.e., are at different anglesrelative to a horizontal plane, such as a horizontal ground plane. Theforegoing feature of the housing 214 configured to redirect the flow ofair exiting the housing 214 advantageously allows the cleaning system100 the ability to better clear the cleaning shoe 108 when transienteffects occur.

Referring to back to FIGS. 2 and 4, in a third aspect of the presentembodiment, the upper portion 126 can alternatively be configured tomove separately from the mobile portion 132. For example, the upperportion 126 can optionally be moved by an actuator 138′ that isoperatively connected to and in communication with a controller 142(further discussed below). The upper portion 126 can pivot or be movedlinearly to effectuate a change or redirection of flow exiting theoutlet 122, similar to the embodiment of the housing 214 discussedabove.

Referring back to FIG. 2 and to FIG. 8, the grain cleaning system 100includes one or more, or a plurality of sensors 140. The sensor 140 isconfigured to sense or detect a number of operational parameters of, orassociated with, the cleaning shoe 108 and/or blower 110. The sensor 140can be attached to one of the cleaning shoe sieves 104, 106 to monitorthe sieve in order to detect transient effects of crop material on thesieves 104, 106. The sensor 140 can also be attached to an outletportion of the blower housing 114 to monitor an operational parameter ofthe blower, such as air flow direction, velocity and/or pressure. Forexample, the sensor 140 can be a presence detection sensor or a grainloss sensor, as disclosed e.g., in U.S. Pat. No. 7,403,846, the entiredisclosure of which is incorporated by reference herein. Thus, thesensor 140 of the cleaning shoe sieve can e.g., detect the presence of atransient effect, the distribution and thickness of crop materialpassing through to the cleaning shoe 108 or grain losses. However, thesensor 140 is not limited to the foregoing means for detecting transienteffects and can be any sensor capable of sensing any attribute relatedto transient effects suitable for the intended use of the presentinvention. Additionally, the present invention can include one or more,or a plurality of sensors 140 for detecting a plurality of attributesrelated to transient effects, such as volume, mass, density of cropmaterials, air flow rate, air pressure or air flow velocity exiting orentering the cleaning shoe 108.

Alternatively, the sensor 140 can be a flow rate sensor, air pressure ora flow velocity sensor 140′ that is positioned about an exit end 108 bof the cleaning shoe 108 to monitor and detect the flow rate, airpressure or flow velocity of air exiting the cleaning shoe 108. The flowrate, air pressure or flow velocity sensor 140′ can also be positionedabout the exit end 108 b of the cleaning shoe 108 and above a receivingsurface of sieves 104 or 106 to independently monitor an upper air flowstream flowing across the upper sieve 104 and a lower air flow streamflowing across the lower sieve 106, each of which exits the cleaningshoe 108 about a rear of the agricultural combine 10.

The flow rate, air pressure and/or flow velocity sensor 140′ can also bepositioned below sieves 104 and 106 to monitor the flow rate, airpressure and/or flow velocity of air passing through sieves 104 and 106.In this arrangement, a plurality of flow rate, air pressure and/or flowvelocity sensors 140′ may be used to monitor the flow rate, air pressureand/or flow velocity traversing the sieves 104 and 106 (i.e., monitoringvertical flow rate/vertical flow velocity).

The grain cleaning system 100 includes controller 142. The controller142 can be part of the agricultural combine's control system 144 or anindependent controller 142 in communication with the combine's controlsystem 144. The controller 142 is operatively connected to and incommunication with the blower 110 and the sensor 140 or each of theplurality of sensors 140, if applicable. The controller 140 can beembodied as a computer, a logic controller, separate electronic circuitsor software associated with the control system 144.

When the sensor 140 is attached to one of the cleaning shoe sieves 104,106, the controller 142 is configured to monitor the cleaning shoe 108.In monitoring the cleaning shoe 108, the controller 142 monitors thesteady state throughput of the cleaning shoe operations. Steady stateoperations for the cleaning shoe 108 occurs when the distribution ofcrop materials traveling along the sieves of the cleaning shoe 108 aresubstantially evenly distributed throughout the entire receiving surfaceof the sieves and grain losses are at an acceptable level. Transienteffects occur e.g., when a large aggregate mass of crop materialaccumulates or is deposited on the receiving surface of the cleaningshoe sieves. For example, when the combine 10 is traveling downhill, themovement of the threshed crop material over the first grain pan 102slows down and a thick layer may develop on top thereof. When thecombine 10 suddenly starts traveling uphill, this crop material willrapidly shift rearward resulting in a pile or larger than normalaggregate of crop material accumulation resulting in a pile of cropmaterial traveling through the cleaning shoe 108. This resultanttransient effect can be detected by the sensor 140 e.g., as a loss insieve loss values. Additional details regarding the operation andapparatuses for measuring transient effects are disclosed in U.S. Pat.No. 7,403,846, the entire disclosure of which is hereby incorporated byreference herein. In sum, the sensor 140 detects a change in theoperational parameter of steady state throughput through the cleaningshoe 108.

Upon detection of a transient effect within the cleaning shoe 108, thecontroller 142 redirects the flow of air, air flow pressure, and/or airflow velocity generated by the blower 110 about the inlet end of thecleaning shoe 108 to a second direction, a second air flow pressure,and/or a second air flow velocity in response to detecting a transienteffect of crop material on the cleaning shoe sieves. This can beaccomplished by moving the front portion 226 of the blower 110 asdiscussed above. That is, when a transient effect occurs within thegrain cleaning system 100, the sensor 140 detects the transient effectsand communicates the presence of the transient effect to the controller142. The controller 142 then moves the front portion 226 to apredetermined position to cause the flow of air exiting the housing 214to be redirected to a second direction that is different than the firstdirection, air pressure to be changed i.e., increased or decreased,and/or air flow velocity to be changes, i.e., increased or decreased, toclear or diminish the transient effect. The predetermined position canbe one of a number of predetermined positions stored in a memory of thecontroller 142 associated with the position of the detected transienteffect or type of transient effect detected. In sum, redirecting theflow of air generated, air flow pressure, and/or air flow velocitygenerated by the blower 110 and entering the cleaning shoe 108advantageously reduces aggregate accumulation of crop material andpromotes optimal air flow distribution through the cleaning shoe 108.

In redirecting the flow of air entering the cleaning shoe, thecontroller 142 can also be configured to redirect the flow of air so asto produce an oscillating pattern of air flow that enters the cleaningshoe 108. This can be accomplished e.g., by oscillating the frontportion 226 between first and second positions, or throughout its entirerange of motion in a repetitive manner.

After the controller 142 redirects the flow of air entering the cleaningshoe 108 to the second direction, the controller 142 continues tomonitor the cleaning shoe 108 for transient effects. If after apredetermined period of time has lapsed since the controller 142redirected the air flow and the transient effect is still detected, thecontroller 142 can be configured to move the front portion 226 toanother position to again redirect the flow of air to a third position.Thereafter, this process of redirecting the flow of air entering thecleaning shoe 108 can be repeated until the transient effect is nolonger detected. Upon detecting an absence of transient effects, thecontroller 142 redirects the flow of air back to the first direction ora direction associated with a predetermined steady state operationcondition.

As discussed above, the sensor 140 can be an air flow rate or air flowvelocity sensor 140′ that is attached to the exit end 108 a of thecleaning shoe 108. In this arrangement, the controller 140 is configuredto monitor and detect one of a flow rate and flow velocity of air flowexiting the cleaning shoe 108 in order to assess the operationalefficiency of the cleaning system 100. Such flow rate and flow velocitysensors 140′ are known in the art and a detailed description of theirstructure, function and operation is not necessary for a completeunderstanding of the present invention. In sum, the sensor 140′ detectsa change in the operational parameter of output air flow rate orvelocity of the cleaning shoe 108.

The controller 142 and sensor 140′ operate substantially the same asdescribed above when used in conjunction with sensor 140, except thatthe controller 142 is now configured to redirect the flow of air exitingthe blower housing 114 upon detecting a change in flow rate or flowvelocity exiting the cleaning shoe 108.

The foregoing description of the cleaning system 100 has been describedwith reference to a single outlet blower 110. However, referring to FIG.9, in accordance with another preferred embodiment, the split housing114 can equally be applicable to a dual outlet blower housing 314. In adual outlet blower embodiment, the dual outlet blower housing 314includes an upper outlet 322 a and a lower outlet 322 b. The upper andlower outlets 322 a, 322 b are formed from the housing 314 exteriorwalls and an internal air duct member 332. The air duct member 332splits the air flow generated by the fan 312 to exit the housing 314through either the upper outlet 322 a or the lower outlet 322 b.Additional dual outlet blower housings applicable to the presentinvention are disclosed in U.S. Patent Application Publication No.2002/0037758 and U.S. Pat. No. 3,813,184, the entire disclosures ofwhich are hereby incorporated by reference in their entirety.

The air duct member 332 can optionally be configured to be moveablebetween a first position and a second position, or a plurality ofpositions relative to the housing 314. The air duct member 332 can beadjustably mounted to the blower housing 314 and moved by an actuator, acylinder, a motor or the like. Preferably, the air duct member 332 isoperatively connected to and moved by one or more actuators 324 to movethe air duct member 332 in the vertical direction i.e., upwards anddownwards. Alternatively, the air duct member 332 can be configured topivot about an axis extending lengthwise across the housing 314 to allowfor a reduction or enlargement of the upper and lower outlets 322 a, 322b. The actuator 324 and blower 310 are operatively connected to and incommunication with the controller 142, which is also operativelyconnected to and in communication with sensors 140. The sensors 140 areas described above in the single outlet blower embodiment of the presentinvention.

Thus, the controller 142 is configured to move the air duct member 332of the housing 314 in response to the sensor 140 detecting a change inan operational parameter of, or associated with, the cleaning shoe 108.For example, when the sensor 140 detects a decreased flow of air exitingthe upper sieve section of the cleaning shoe 108, the controller 142moves the air duct member 332 upwards and/or downwards to cause anincrease or change in air flow velocity exiting the upper outlet 332 aor lower outlet 332 b.

Referring to FIGS. 10 and 11, in a further embodiment, the presentinvention provides a grain cleaning system 100 that includes the blower410 and a moveable air deflector 432 positioned downstream of the blower410. The air deflector 432 is preferably configured as shown in FIGS. 10and 11 having a substantially triangular cross-section. The airdeflector 432 has a tip 432 a and a concave tail portion 432 b formounting to a cylindrical member 440 of the agricultural combine 10 thatis positioned upstream of an outlet 422 of the blower 410. The airdeflector 432 is pivotally mounted to cylindrical member 440 so as topivot about an axis 442 substantially parallel to an axis of rotation444 of the fan 412. When mounted to the cylindrical member 440, the airdeflector's tip 432 is upstream of the flow of air exiting the blower410 at the outlet 422 while the tail portion 432 b is downstream of thetip 432 a.

The air deflector 432 can be moved to pivot about the axis 442 by one ormore actuators 438 or motors. The actuator 438 is connected to the airdeflector 432 by a linkage 446, which can be attached to the airdeflector 432 about any number of positions along a longitudinal lengthof the air deflector 432. Alternatively, the actuator 438 can beconnected to the cylindrical member 440 to which the air deflector 432is rigidly attached to pivot the cylindrical member 440 and the airdeflector 432.

The air deflector 432 is also operatively connected to and incommunication with the controller 142. The controller 142 is configuredto control and move the air deflector 432 about a plurality of positionsrelative to a direction of flow of the air entering the cleaning shoe108.

The air deflector 432 is preferably configured and oriented to direct aflow of air generated by the blower 410 into upper and lower airstreams. The upper air stream is directed to serve as a primary air flowstream for upper sieve 104 while the lower air stream is directed toserve as a primary air flow stream for lower sieve 106. The airdeflector 432 advantageously provides the ability to focus air flow athigher velocities across individual sieves 104, 106 of the cleaning shoe108.

The controller 142 operatively connected to and in communication withthe air deflector 150 can also be configured with a set of definedratios for air flow divided between the upper and lower streams storedin a memory. The ratios for air flow between the upper and lower streamsare defined based upon the flow rate or flow velocity exiting thecleaning shoe 108. Specifically, the flow ratios (of either flow rate orvelocity) of the upper and lower streams are inversely proportional tothe measured rate of flow exiting the exit end of the cleaning shoe 108.For example, when a transient effect occurs within the cleaning system,the measured rate of flow exiting the exit end of the cleaning shoe 108at the upper sieve 104 may be less than that of the lower sieve 106. Inthis case, the controller 142 can reposition the air deflector 432 todivert e.g., 2/3 of the air flow generated by the fan 412 to upperstream which is directed to flow across the upper sieve 104 and 1/3 ofthe air flow generated to the lower stream which is directed to flowacross the lower sieve 106. Alternatively, the ratio of flow to theupper sieve can be e.g., 7/8, 3/4 or 5/8 of the air flow generated bythe fan 412. In this configuration, the cleaning shoe 108 is configuredwith individual sensors 140 for sensing the flow rate or flow velocityexiting the cleaning shoe 108 at a level of the upper sieve 104 and thelower sieve 106.

The controller 142 can also be operatively connected to and incommunication with a motor 111 of the blower 110 and one or more sensors140. In this configuration, the controller 142 is configured to modifythe speed of rotation of the blower's fan in response to detecting achange from steady state conditions of an operational parameter of thecleaning system. Such operational parameters include a transient effecton a sieve of the cleaning shoe 108, an outlet flow rate of the cleaningshoe 108, an outlet flow velocity of the cleaning shoe 108, orcombinations thereof.

While the above described embodiments have been described with referenceto a single blower housing (see e.g., FIG. 11), the foregoingembodiments described above can be configured with a blower havingmultiple blower housings 514, as shown e.g., in FIG. 12. In such amultiple blower housing configuration, each individual housing 514 a isconfigured with an actuator to move the respective portions of thehousing 514 between first and second positions to effectuate a change inair flow direction, air flow rate or air flow velocity exiting thehousing 514, as further described in the above embodiments.

Referring back to FIGS. 1-4, in operation, the agricultural combine 10harvests crop material that is received through the feederhouse 20 andtravels to the threshing and separating section 18. The processed cropmaterial e.g., grain, then passes through the combine 10 to the grainpans and sieves 104, 106 that are oscillated generally back-and-forthfor transporting threshed and separated grain from the first grain pan102 to the pre-cleaning sieve and the second grain pan and therefrom tothe sieves 104, 106. The same oscillatory movement spreads the grainacross the sieves 104, 106, while permitting the passage of cleanedgrain by gravity through the apertures of these sieves. The grain on thesieves 104, 106 is subjected to a cleaning action by the blower 110which provides high velocity air flow through the sieves to remove chaffand other impurities such as dust from the grain by making this materialairborne for discharge from the combine 10. Clean grain then falls to aclean grain auger (not shown) in a clean grain auger trough and issubsequently transferred by the auger and an elevator mechanism (notshown) to the grain tank 14. Incompletely threshed ears, the so-called“tailings,” do not pass through the upper sieve 104, but upon reachingthe end thereof, fall to a tailings auger (not shown) in a tailingsauger trough. The tailings are transported sideways by this auger to aseparate rethresher and returned by a tailings elevator to the firstgrain pan 102 for repeated cleaning action. Impellers at the upper endof the tailings elevator spread the returned crop over the full width ofthe grain pan 102. The above-described mechanism of the tailings auger,the rethresher and the tailings elevator is also referred to as to a“return flow system.” Additional details regarding the structure andoperation of the cleaning system 100 is discussed in detail in U.S. Pat.No. 7,403,846, the entire disclosure of which is hereby incorporated byreference herein.

As mentioned above, overload in the upper sieve 104 of the graincleaning system 100 may result in considerable crop loss. Throughout thedescription, there will be referred to a variation in the slope of thefield as a cause for temporary overload of the upper sieve in a graincleaning system. However, it should be clear from the presentdescription that overload problems caused by other transient effects,e.g. higher yield load on certain field spots or changes to threshingsettings of the harvester, may be solved as well with the improvedmethod according to the present invention.

For exemplary purposes only, the foregoing operation of the presentinvention will be described with respect to detecting transient effectswithin the cleansing shoe 108 of the agricultural combine 10. As shownin FIG. 13, transient effects will result e.g., in an aggregate heap ofcrop material on the upper sieve 104. For example, while the combineharvester is travelling downhill, the movement of the threshed cropmaterial over the first grain pan 102 slows down and a thick layer maydevelop on top thereof. When the harvester suddenly starts travellinguphill, this material will rapidly shift rearwardly and make a pile ofthreshed material 24 on a front section of the upper sieve 104. Thislocal pile of crop material 24 will move backwards on the upper sieve104 until it leaves the machine at the end of the upper sieve 104, whichcan be registered e.g., as a sudden increase of a sieve loss signal. Thesudden increase of sieve losses can be detected by monitoring consequentsieve loss values with sensor 140.

The presence of an aggregate accumulation of crop material 24 isdetected by the sensor 140, which then signals the controller 142 toredirect the flow of air generated by the blower 110. The redirectedflow of air will result in a breakdown of the aggregate accumulation ofcrop material which aids in maintaining optimal processing parametersand conditions for the cleaning shoe 108, as shown in FIG. 13A. That is,maintaining optional processing parameters and conditions results inless sieve losses and higher yields of harvested crop materials.

Referring to FIG. 14, in accordance with another preferred embodiment,the present invention provides for a method of clearing a grain cleaningsystem 100 of an agricultural combine. The method includes the step ofproviding and directing a flow of high velocity air in a first directionabout an inlet end of a cleaning shoe 108. The flow of high velocity aircan be provided for and directed by a blower 110 (Step 602). Thecleaning shoe 108 extends along a direction substantially parallel to alongitudinal direction of the agricultural combine 10 i.e., a front toback direction. The method further includes the step of monitoring thecleaning shoe 108 in order to detect a change in an operationalparameter of the cleaning shoe 108 (Step 604). Such operationalparameters monitored can include transient effects on a sieve of thecleaning shoe 108, flow rates, and/or flow velocities exiting thecleaning shoe 108 or passing through sieves of the cleaning shoe 108.Further, the method includes the step of redirecting the flow of highvelocity air about the inlet end of the cleaning shoe 108 in a seconddirection in response to a detected change in the operational parameter(Step 606). The second direction is a direction that is different thanthat of the first direction and can include a plurality of directionsthat is inclusive or exclusive of the first direction.

Referring to FIG. 15, in accordance with yet another preferredembodiment, the present invention provides for a method of clearing agrain cleaning system of an agricultural combine. The method includesthe step of providing a blower for generating a flow of air in a firstdirection about and inlet end of a cleaning shoe (Step 702) andmonitoring the flow of air generated by the blower in order to detect achange in an operational parameter of the blower (Step 704). The methodfurther includes the step of modifying at least one of a direction,velocity and pressure of the flow of air in response to a detectedchange in the operational parameter (Step 706).

Referring to FIG. 17, in accordance with another preferred embodiment,there is shown a blower 610 having a housing 614 that includes an outerhousing wall 616 and an inner housing wall 618. The outer housing wall616 remains stationary. The inner housing wall 618, which is configuredsimilar to mobile portion 132, is attached to the housing 614 so as tomove between first and second positions, similar to mobile portion 132described above. That is, the inner housing wall 618 is configured topivot about axis 116 within the outer housing wall 616 to effectuate achange in direction, pressure, and/or velocity of a flow of air exitingthe blower 610.

It will be appreciated by those skilled in the art that changes could bemade to the embodiments described above without departing from the broadinventive concept thereof. For example, additional components and stepscan be added to the various grain cleaning system embodiments. It is tobe understood, therefore, that this invention is not limited to theparticular embodiments disclosed, but it is intended to covermodifications within the spirit and scope of the present invention asdefined by the appended claims.

We claim:
 1. An agricultural combine comprising: a support structure;and a grain cleaning system mounted to the support structure, the graincleaning system including: a cleaning shoe having a sieve, a sensor forsensing at least one operational parameter of the cleaning shoe, and ablower for blowing air into the cleaning shoe; and a controlleroperatively connected to and in communication with the blower and thesensor, wherein the controller is configured to control the blower toprovide a flow of air between at least a first direction and a seconddirection by varying at least one of the location and the size of anoutlet of the blower directing air into the cleaning shoe in response tothe sensor sensing a change in the at least one operational parameter.2. The agricultural combine of claim 1, wherein the operationalparameter is a transient effect on the sieve, a flow rate of the flow ofair, a flow velocity of the flow of air, air pressure, or combinationsthereof.
 3. The agricultural combine of claim 1, further comprising anair deflector positioned downstream of a fan of the blower fordeflecting the flow of air entering the cleaning shoe.
 4. Theagricultural combine of claim 3, wherein the controller is configured tomove the air deflector to control the flow of air between an upperstream and a lower stream at a desired ratio.
 5. The agriculturalcombine of claim 3, wherein the controller is operatively connected tothe deflector plate for moving the deflector plate about a plurality ofpositions upon sensing a change in the at least one operationalparameter.
 6. The agricultural combine of claim 1, wherein thecontroller is configured to modify the blower to output a highervelocity flow of air upon sensing a change in the at least oneoperational parameter.
 7. An agricultural combine comprising: a supportstructure; and a grain cleaning system mounted to the support structure,the grain cleaning system including: a cleaning shoe having a sieve, asensor for sensing at least one operational parameter of the cleaningshoe, and a blower for the cleaning shoe; and a controller operativelyconnected to and in communication with the blower and the sensor,wherein the blower is configured to provide a flow of air between atleast a first direction and a second direction air into the cleaningshoe in response to the sensor sensing a change in the at least oneoperational parameter; and the blower comprising a housing having: afirst portion, a second portion movable between a first position and asecond position, and an outlet formed by at least one of the first andsecond portions; and a fan rotatable within the housing, wherein a sizeof the outlet changes as the second portion is moved between the firstand second positions.
 8. The agricultural combine of claim 7, whereinthe housing includes a cam for directing a movement of the secondportion between the first and second positions.
 9. The agriculturalcombine of claim 8, wherein the first portion of the housing is fixed inposition.
 10. The agricultural combine of claim 9, wherein the outlet iscompletely formed by the second portion.
 11. The agricultural combine ofclaim 7, wherein the controller is configured to modify a speed ofrotation of the fan upon sensing a change in the at least oneoperational parameter.
 12. The agricultural combine of claim 7, whereinthe second portion is moved by an actuator, a cylinder, a solenoid, orcombinations thereof.
 13. The agricultural combine of claim 7, whereinthe first portion is an upper housing portion and the second portion isa lower housing portion.